Council asked to act on 'monster homes'
By Bill Rea

The building of excessively large homes in the King City area has prompted concern in the community.

Concerned Citizens of King Township (CCKT) made their concerns known earlier this month, through a letter from CCKT Vicechair Ron Mitchell and a deputation from CCKT Chair Debbie Schaefer. Councillors received Schaefer's presentation.

In his letter, Mitchell complained about a house of "overwhelming size relative to any neighbouring homes" being constructed in King City. While he agreed the house has "attractive design features," he stated it's out of place, in terms of its lot, street and local environment.

While he defended property-owners' rights to develop land as they please, he maintained there are responsibilities too, and that hasn't been shown in this case.

Mitchell said he had been told verbally that the house complies with zoning regulations that state the footprint of the house can be no more than 30 per cent of the property.

"We therefore believe that the criteria must be changed though revisions to all pertinent bylaws," he wrote. "Some control must be exerted by you and council through revised bylaws which do not allow such a situation to arise."

In her presentation to council, Schaefer commented these houses "do not harmonize with the surrounding homes."

She pointed out there can be implications on neighbouring homes from the construction of such big houses, including the transformation of a sunny garden into a shady one, or higher heating costs in winter because less sunlight gets to the smaller house.

Schaefer called for revisions to the Township's Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw to deal with issues like this.

"We are not asking council to be an arbiter of taste or fashion," she stated. "Rather, we recommend that council creatively use the usual restrictions and limitations of the bylaw."

She also suggested the answer wasn't changing the 30 per cent provisions to some other number, but rather incorporating the the current reality of the given street or neighbourhood. She pointed out what might be appropriate for a street in King City might not work on Main Street in Schomberg.

"We are on the path to our villages becoming hodgepodge," she stated. "We ask that council take concrete action, on an urgent basis, to stop proliferation of monster homes in the villages and communities of the township."